the alliance
by BurgerkingCumberdoodle
Summary: AU DH- Draco is the next heir of France desperately searching for an alliance to keep his country safe. Lucius Malfoy desides to help for a bit and arranges a tournament to test who is best for his son as well as for France. in between all the powerful countries Harry tries to stand his ground as heir of the small laughed at Netherlands.
1. prologue

**Prologue**

For centuries now every heir of the Malfoy royal family had married a women chosen for them by birth, one who would be able to handle the pressure of leadership and at the same time be able to stand down and let their partner fix it.

This year would be the first time that routine would be broken. With the threat of war coming from the south, where the death eater tribes under command of Tom Riddle prepared for battle, the only thing to buy them some more time was a strong alliance. That´s why Lucius Malfoy who was currently king of France started making arrangements for a tournament a week before his only son Draconis Lucius Malfoy would come of age. He invited all heirs of the stronger country´s at that time: Pansy Parkinson of England, Luna Lovegood of Sweden, Hermione Granger of Greece, Cho Chang of China and because this alliance was so important even boys were asked to compete. They were: Ronald Weasley of Germany, Blaise Zambini of Italy, Dudley Dursley of Poland and after some consideration he added Harry Potter of the Netherlands to the list. They might not be big or have a lot of fire power but they had contacts everywhere and the young Potter boy was said to be something special.

No more than two days later Lucius received answers from all the country's and he was quite satisfied with the results. Everyone would be attending with exception of Cho Chang since her parents had already arranged for her to be married to the next heir of Japan.

All the guests would be arriving tomorrow but he would check them first before he officially decided who would fight for an alliance.


	2. Chapter 1

**A huge ostrich is trying to eat me**

''tell me again why you accepted?'' Harry asked as he was packing his clothes for the long journey to France.

''because we could use an army and you could use some fresh air.'' Harry glared at his mother but this only made her smile. ''I think you will like the young Malfoy heir though, the last time I saw him he had the same interests as you.'' He raised an eyebrow at her with his eyes asking if she meant this serious but there was no mocking in her eyes.

''the last time you were in France I was six! So you're basically saying I have the same interests as an six year old?'' her emerald eyes widened when she realized what she had just said.

''you know I didn't mean it like that dear!'' she cried out and Harry laughed good heartedly at her.

''yeah I know.'' He gave her a quick hug. ''thank you. Now, do you have any idea where my trousers are?'' Lily sighted.

''I swear to Merlin if I get up and find them immediately you will have Hell to pay young man.'' Two seconds later she walked out of the huge closet with a pair of dark trousers. Harry's eyes widened.

''I swear they must have just teleported there or something!'' Lily shook her head at her son's behavior and just threw the trousers at him. Harry grinned at his mother he was so glad that inside the safe haven of these four walls they could act like a real family instead of the plastic dolls everyone expected them to be.

''don't stay up to late, you have a big journey ahead of you.'' His mother said as she gave him a kiss on the forehead.

''I will, goodnight.''

'' goodnight.'' When the door closed he sighted. he really didn't want to pack anymore. Unfortunately his parents had forbidden him to ask any of the servants to pack for him. they said it was good to realize you can plan ahead or can't hold other people responsible for your actions. He could of course always use magic although that was forbidden. For most people their magic chore can't be reached until they come of age for Harry though it was a whole different story. He had been able to move objects with his mind before he could crawl. Because he was still underage he could let absolutely no one find out about his magic. That didn't mean he didn't use it at all however once a week his father would take him out hunting but instead of hunting they would visit two old friends of James, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. The two males had thought him everything he knew and since a month that included being an animagi.

Harry sighted once more there was no way he was going to get away with using magic inside the castle. The wards would detect it immediately, his parents would know and he would not be allowed to leave for France. And despite his previous commends he really did want to go.

He finished an hour later with two huge suitcases and a backpack, maybe not the fanciest look but it was convenient. He could always shrink it and hide it in his pocket when he'd arrive.

When he woke up he cursed the world, quite colorfully, to hell when he realized the time he had to spend in a train. As leader, or heir, of a country he couldn't floo to another country. Luckily for him he could floo to the train station which bought him ten minutes or so to continue sleeping. He quickly said goodbye to his parents and promised to floo call them when he'd arrived.

The station where the train would be arriving was a private station just outside the capitol borders. It was small but you didn't have to run through any walls to get there so that was a relieve. The train arrived a few minutes later It was fully black with a huge white m on the side. As soon as the train stopped servants jumped out and took his luggage. Harry was still staring in amazement at the now empty spot where his suitcases had once been. It was as if the suitcases as well at the servants had just vanished. A hand on his back shook him from his thoughts.

''master would like for you to step in Sir.'' a small male with combed back black hair said.

''right, thank you.'' Instead of letting him just search his own spot thee servant followed him and eventually pushed himself to the front so that harry could follow him. meanwhile the train slowly started to depart. They passed several cabinets, all empty, and he started to wonder what was wrong with them that he couldn't sit there. At the end of the third wagon he finally saw another human. In the last cabin sat a red haired boy completely alone staring outside. As if he felt is eyes on him the red head turned to him and their eyes locked for a second. Harry smiled and waved but the boy just stared weirdly at him. When the servant just walked ahead Harry decided that he had enough.

''why can't I just sit here?''

''master arranged another cabin for mister Harry Potter, Sir.'' Harry sighted he had hoped for some company during the long ride but it looked like he would be killing time by himself.

His special cabin turned out to be two wagons further, the train certainly was a lot bigger from the inside than from the outside. Now he could see why they had picked this cabin for him, the walls were in the colors of his country red, white and blue in horizontal lines under each other and the benches were orange. In other words, it was the most ugly cabin he had ever seen but if the Malfoy family had done all this for him than he would use it. He cursed himself to Hell and back when he realized he hadn't really packed anything to do in the train. He sighted and settled on just closing his eyes until he would drift of.

Three hours later he was roughly awoken by a loud blast. The door of the wagon had blown open and all the papers that were neatly piled in the luggage racks flew through the wagon. Harry jumped out of his seat and tried to close the door, the wind however was a lot stronger than he was and the door remained open. After that he just started to grab as many papers as he could resulting in two saved papers and hands full of paper cuts. He stopped catching papers when he heard horses approach although he couldn't see them when he looked outside. Harry frowned trying hard to find where the sound was coming from but so far not finding anything remotely out of the ordinary.

Suddenly the door of the wagon in front of his blew open and the red head quickly ran into his.

''what are you still doing here? Have you lost your bloody mind? Run!'' Harry looked at the rapidly disappearing redhead. He still didn't get what could make someone this scared but he had a vague feeling he really didn't want to stick around to find out. a lout roar sounded from the other wagon and that was all the encouragement he needed to try run as fast as he could. While running he noticed the horse hooves coming closer and closer.

Finally he reached the wagon door only to find it locked. Trying hard not to curse Harry looked around, fanatically searching for a place to hide. His eyes fell on the luggage racks and he got an even better idea.

Hiding behind one of the benches Harry waited until he could hear the, whatever it was, breathing at the other side of the benches. The sound he had thought of as horse hooves now sounded more like claws. Praying that whatever it was suddenly decided it didn't like human flesh after all Harry pushed himself closer to the wall. just as he wanted to jump out and drive the animal towards the place he wanted it the wagon door opened and the red head appeared, carrying some kind of gun. The animal immediately jumped at him and the boy threw the strange gun, the animals eyes widened, now that he could actually see the creature it looked a lot less terrifying. It looked like some kind of huge bird, muggles would probably describe it as an ostrich only with sharp teeth and a huge white feathery tail. The gun missed and the huge bird grinned. Wait, could birds even grin? The gun landed somewhere considerably close to him and at the same time as the red head tried to dodge the birds claws Harry leaped for the gun. The ostrich was to distracted to notice anything so he got safely to the gun. Now that he had it however it turned out to be something entirely different than a gun it was some kind of ball.

''a little bit faster please flying Dutchman.'' The red head pleaded. Harry looked up and saw the red head once again jump to the side at the enormous claw tried to slash him in halves.

''how does this thing work!'' he cried out as he turned the ball around but couldn't find anything unusual about it. Only then he realized he had made a huge mistake the bird turned around and for a second Harry couldn't move as red eyes stared into his.

''just throw it!'' the red head yelled, a hint of panic now noticeable in his voice. Harry shook his head this was no time to lose his mind so he did the only thing he could do, he threw the ball. The ball hit the birds head and Harry as well as the ostrich stared at the ball questioningly, nothing happened.

''this is the part where we run!'' the redhead said.

''really?! That was all it could do? Nothing!'' Harry yelled at the boy as they ran to the other wagon.

''well I at least tried something?! You were cowering behind a bench!''

''I had a plan! But you ruined…'' Harry suddenly stopped.

''why are you stopping?! Big chicken mcnugget coming after us remember?''

''I had a plan.''

''yes, you are the next Einstein now RUN'' the red head urged him. a roar came from the wagon behind them and they started to run again. If he wanted his plan to work they had to make sure there was at least a four cabin gap between them and the ostrich.

''tell me again how we are going to defeat this thing by me lying in the luggage racks?'' the redhead asked him skeptically.

''shhh, just wait for my sign and everything will make sense.'' Originally he had planned to do the other boy's part but he figured this would work as well. Harry once again hid behind the benches after he had closed the wagon door. Now that he knew with what they were dealing it would be a lot easier.

It took the bird no more than 20 seconds to find the wagon. It let out a loud roar when it found out the door was closed. Slowly the ostrich started to look around Harry's mind vaguely registered the bird couldn't have known they were hidden in that wagon but the adrenaline made it hard to conclude anything from it.

As soon as the bird was close to the spot where the red head was hidden Harry jumped out of hiding and the birds head immediately snapped towards him. instead of running from the large animal Harry started to throw the papers that were here still neatly piled inside the luggage racks. The bird shook its head as one of the papers hit his head and he did a step backwards. At that moment it was on the exact same place Harry wanted him to be.

''now push!'' the red head didn't need to be told twice he pushed against the roof and the racks that weren't meant for carrying human weight anyway broke and fell onto the ostrich head. the huge bird made a last sad pained cry before it silenced completely.

''next time you have an idea like this you can lay in the bloody racks.'' the red haired boy growled as he stood up from the pile of iron and flat bird. Neither boy noticed the train slowly coming to a halt until the doors opened and a tall man with long white blond hair stepped inside. The man's grey eyes were slowly scanning the train and finally landed on the bird.

''I see you had some trouble on your way.''

'' we are terribly sorry for the mess we made Sire we will pay for all the damage.'' Harry said as he bowed for the king of France realizing he had made the worst entrance ever. To his utmost surprise the man started to laugh.

''you must be the young Potter, am I correct.'' Harry nodded meanwhile trying to fix his appearance to at least a little bit decent. '' _delusio_ '' suddenly the ostrich started to dissolve and a beautiful white peacock emerged from under the pile of iron. ''you see I was actually hoping for you to make a mess. And please call me Lucius.'' Harry nodded looking in amazement at the white peacock that was now picking around their feet in the hope to find something he could eat.

''so you deliberately tried to kill us?'' the redhead exclaimed a little angry. Lucius now turned towards him and his expression changed from friendly to cold.

''young Weasley I presume? I didn't want to kill anyone this was merely a test of courage. I wouldn't want my country to be let by a coward.'' The redhead still didn't look completely convinced but he seemed to have decided not to make a scene. ''now if you would follow me then I'll introduce you to your fellow contestants . And of course my son.'' They were let to a carriage carried by two enormous white birds.

'' do you think these are also blood thirsty peacocks?'' the red head, who must be Ronald Weasley of Germany whispered. Harry grinned but shook his head.

''no I think these are more likely to be some kind of chickens'' he said as one of them jumped up and let out a loud cackle.'' Ronald laughed murmuring something that sounded like bloody right it is.

The drive to the manor took them about ten minutes and as they drove the two boys got to know each other a little better. Apparently the redhead liked to be called Ron instead of Ronald and he had a lot of siblings of which he wasn't even the oldest. He apparently was the youngest male of the family send because his older brothers all either had wives or had refused have anything to do with royal stuff. That was also probably the reason why Lucius wasn't very fond of the boy. Lucius meanwhile just sat in silence on the bench in front of them listening to the two boys talk occasionally asking something himself. Lucius told them they wouldn't be going to the place but to one of his other small houses which would be a present for the county that won the alliance.

The small house he was talking about turned out to be around the size of the Dutch royal palace only it was completely white and the gardens were a lot bigger. Harry's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

''boys'' Lucius spoke up '' welcome to Malfoy manor.''


	3. Chapter 2

**a/n: I just realized I didn't have a disclaimer in my previous chapters. So listen carefully now: I do in fact own all the characters since ..well… I am J.K. Rowling. HAHA lol no. I would probably have raped Draco by now if he really was mine… where is this a/n going. I honestly don't know anymore. so just to be sure: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.**

 **I realize I have made the characters all very ooc in this chapter but don't worry everything fall into place after a few chapters.**

 **I also wanted to thank you all for reading/ following/ reviewing or adding this fic to your favorites. I was honestly not expecting any of it so thank you! I love you all! (right I'll not get sentimental now and let you read the next chapter)**

 **The next chapter will be up a little later than usual but it won't be any longer as Sunday.**

 **Someone crawls through my window**

The inside of the manor was even more astonishing as the outside. The entrance hall was a huge room with high roof and a big crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. All the walls were white of course the only colorful item in the room being the carpet which had a warm shade of red. Harry felt totally out of place in his khaki trousers and button up dark blue shirt. On top of that he was pretty sure he had dirt all over his face and his hair looked as if a cow had tried to eat it.

In the middle of the room stood a tall woman with equally white hair as her husband. She was wearing a long silky azure blue dress that fell beautifully around her slim figure. Harry bowed immediately, not wanting to make the same mistake he had made with the king by staring first. Narcissa Malfoy smiled warmly at him.

''so you are Harry Potter. I have heard a lot about you from your mother.'' Harry couldn't help but grimace. What was it with royalty and expecting nothing to change between a time gap of 11 years. ''and you must be Ronald Weasley then'' Ron nodded as the queen focused her attention on him ''I must admit I don't know anything about you.''

''miss Malfoy?'' Harry asked

''please call me Narcissa, Harry. What is it?''

''if you don't mind me asking. But what happened to our luggage.'' Even though he had asked it to Narcissa, Lucius was the one who answered.

''your luggage has already been transferred to you rooms.'' Harry heard Ron squeak at the word rooms. He wasn't sure if the boy was shocked or happy. Narcissa smiled and clapped her hands. Almost immediately a man with similar hair and clothes as the man on the train appeared.

''mistress had called?'' Harry stared at the man who had appeared from out of nowhere and breathed a small how?

''how you ask? Magic of course'' Lucius answered from right beside him. Harry jumped a little, he hadn't heard the king come closer.

''I haven't seen magic like that, ever.''

''that's because its forbidden in most countries.''

'' you mean like black magic?'' Harry asked getting a weird feeling all of a sudden.

''no! no, not like black magic. It's called house elf magic.''

''but… isn't that considered slavery?'' Harry asked.

''some say it is yes, but look at it from another point of view and it all doesn't seem so bad-''

''how can hard labor, low payment and no respect be considered not bad?'' a unknown female voiced joined in. Harry looked around searching for the source of the voice. Beside him he could hear Ron's breath hitch. Then his eyes finally found the reason why Ron had been so focused on the staircases that led to the entrance hall. On top of one of these staircases stood a beautiful girl with bushy brown hair wearing tight jeans and a tank top that accentuated her body perfectly. Harry recognized her instantly.

''Hermione Granger of Greece'' Harry said with a voice as if he had a hot potato stuck in his throat and meanwhile making a deep bow. All people in the room stared at Harry questioningly. That was until the squeak from the girl on the stairs made all their heads snap towards her again.

'' Harry!'' he laughed as he caught the flying girl and fell to the ground from the impact of it. Both of them quickly scrambled to their feet as they saw the other three stare at them. Hermione muttered a soft apology but none of them seemed to mind their little spectacle too much.

''now then I'll leave you too explore you room and perhaps the mansion. We dine at 8.'' And with that information Narcissa left them soon joined by an apologetic looking Lucius.

''Harry why didn't you tell me you were coming too!'' Hermione cried out, once again claiming everyone's attention. ''I thought I would be all alone, I mean, you know without knowing anyone.'' Harry smiled at her, having a hard time believing Hermione would ever be really alone. The girl had some kind of air around her which just lured people in. just as he was about to voice those thoughts the servant spoke up.

''mistress wishes for Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley to follow Sirs''

''right, I'll see you at diner than Moine.'' The girl nodded making her hair bounce in the progress. She gave Harry one last hug before she turned around and ran up the stairs.

''bloody Hell how do you know HER.'' Ron asked as they followed the servants up the same stairs they'd just seen Hermione disappear on.

''we grew up together. My country had a lot of political meetings in Greece when we were little and since we were around the same age our parents always dumped us together in the gardens or something. First we hated it but we slowly became friends.'' Ron opened his mouth but before he could ask anything else the servant stopped in front of a wooden door with a weasel curling around the door handle. The savant opened the door and stepped aside bowing in de process.

''is this my room?'' he asked and stepped closer when the servant nodded. The redheads eyes widened immediately. ''this is all mine?'' another nod ''bloody Hell'' he whispered and as the servant pulled the door close behind him Harry could hear a loud laughing Bloody Hell! Harry grinned and proceeded to follow the servant another staircase up. Why did he always have to walk the furthest. First with the train cabin and now with his room. He sincerely hoped they hadn't painted the room in his country's colors as well.

His room turned out to be on the third floor on the right. It had a door similar to Ron's only there wasn't a weasel curled around the doorknob but a lion. Just as with Ron the servant stepped to the side and bowed. Harry peeked around the door and was met with a sight that wasn't even close to the hideous image he had in mind for the room he would be staying at. The walls were white just like the rest of the manor but the carpet had the same warm red color as the one in the entrance hall. There was a big fireplace and some couches and chairs around it. There were two big windows including a balcony and large glass doors. Everywhere on the walls where there weren't windows stood large bookshelves and in front of the largest window there was a large table with red tulips on it.

After having inspected the room he turned to the servant but the door was already closed and the servant had left. Harry sighted and opened the door next to the fireplace. The room that lay behind it was almost as astonishing as the first. The room had about half the size of the previous room but had twice as many windows. Against the wall stood a large king-size bed with red curtains. The walls were again white only the roof was different. Instead of lamps there hung golden straps of silk that shaped themselves as a sun spreading a small amount of light. His suitcases lay on the bed and he suddenly felt terribly misplaced with his common suitcases.

The closet was the same as at his own at home, way too big for his few clothes. When he finished unpacking Harry opened the huge balcony doors. The balcony was located at the back of the manor. From there he could see a large lake at the left side of the manor and the forest surrounding it. Close to the first line of trees was a little gardening house. Movement in the corner of his right eye caught his attention but as soon as he turned around it was gone. Harry frowned but decided not to dwell on it for too long. Inside he found a letter waiting for him at the table.

 _Dear mister Potter,_

 _I am terribly sorry not to have informed you of the benefits of staying here. For one every room comes with its own servant. Clap two times and he will find you. Second you are free to do anything you want whenever you want on the Malfoy grounds but we expect you to be down for breakfast, diner and other activities considering the tournament. And last you are allowed to use the floo network to floo everywhere, with of course the exception of traveling to other countries._

 _Lucius Malfoy_

Harry grinned that was very good news now he wouldn't have to worry about having to ask his host to use their floo network to floo call home. The first part he decided to immediately test. He clapped two times and as the letter had said a small male stood in front of him. he looked exactly like the other servants with exception of his hair color. This man's hair was a light shade of brown instead of black.

''what can Greel do for master Harry Potter Sir?'' the man squeaked.

''ehm, nothing actually I just wanted to see if it worked and say hi. So… hi'' the man looked surprised and unsure of what to do.

''you is really not needing anything Sir?'' he asked again just to be sure. Harry shook his head and dismissed the confused man. He figured it would do the man more good to just go back to his job than to keep on confusing him with apparently weird things to say.

As soon as the man left Harry turned to look at the many books that were stored on the shelves in his room. Some of them he already knew and some were just laughable. So was there a shelve with on the one end books on how to kill your opponent with invisible weapons and on the other end of the shelve stood a book called 'How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You' (a/n: it's actually a real book by Matthew Inman). After some consideration he pulled a small dark blue book from the shelves. _The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde,_ it was muggle literature. He didn't really know why it surprised him probably because he had heard the French weren't all that fond of their less wealthy citizens. He took the book to his bedroom and left the door open for fresh air.

He had never had a really long attention spam but this time it took him literally two minutes to fall asleep. Passed out he didn't notice the aristocrat boy sneaking into his rooms to escape his guards.

Ever since their guests had arrived Draco was held under 24/7 protection. Even though this whole spectacle was about his future he wasn't allowed to see any of the contestants until tonight. So he, being the disobedient boy he was, had tried to get rid of his guards ever since this morning. It was only after lunch that he had convinced them that he was tired and would take a quick nap. Instead of napping however he climbed out of the window and into the next room which, unfortunately, appeared to be occupied. The raven haired boy on the bed turned onto his back and Draco pushed himself to the wall afraid he had awoken the boy. Only when he heard the soft snoring did he relax.

The thing on the boy's nightstand caught his attention and Draco tried to get closer to it without making too much noise. The item appeared to be some kind of photograph only it wasn't moving like wizarding photo's. on the picture he could see the raven haired standing in the middle of two men proudly presenting an almost glowing small golden ball. Draco frowned looking from the picture at the boy and the other way, trying to figure out who the boy was and what the golden ball in his hand could be.

''like what you're seeing?'' Draco jumped in shock when he realized the raven head was awake and he had been staring at him for quite some time now. Emerald eyes slowly tried to focus on him but for some reason couldn't. ''if you're done staring do you mind handing me my glasses?'' Draco looked around and finally found a pair of dorky round glasses laying on one of the nightstands but just as he wanted to hand them to the boy he changed his mind.

''I can't find them.'' he whispered.

''can't or just don't want to search for them?''

''both I guess. You know, I can ask my dad to make new once for you. Once that are a bit more modern'' Draco replied.

''what's wrong with the once I have now?'' Harry asked still unable to see more of his companion as a huge blur.

''you can't be serious? If it wasn't such an old joke I would have said even my grandmother wouldn't want to be found death with them.'' Draco stated not at all thinking about why the other boy was so calm even though there was a complete stranger in his room.

''well I happen to like them so if all you're going to do here is insult my glasses you can just leave.'' Draco bit his lip why did his conversations with people of his own age always end in mean commends. He didn't want that to happen with the emerald eyed boy no matter what. Even if that meant not saying any of the mean comebacks his mind was forming right now. ''what are you doing here anyway?''

''I wasn't planning on coming here if that is what you thought so no I'm not a stalker.'' Harry chuckled softly and warmth spread through Draco's stomach. he decided right then and there that he wanted to hear the boy laugh or even just chuckle as many times as possible. ''I was trying to get rid of my guards and climbed out of the window and well.. your window is the first I came across.''

''you're one of the contestants then?''

''yeah, sort of'' Draco murmured. ''are you?'' he asked after the awkward silence that followed the raven heads question. He tried not to sound to hopeful, he had given up on finding someone to love or even remotely interesting after realizing he didn't have a choice.

''yeah, don't worry though I'm not here to win, my parents thought I should see more of the world as my own country.'' Draco nodded feeling a little sad. For the first time he'd met someone his own age who didn't hate him at first sight and now the stranger admitted not to have any interest in him. still, the boy was a contestant and maybe, just maybe Draco would be able to get the boy so far as to actually do his best. They talked for about two more minutes until they heard a loud growl in the hallway.

''that's my sign. I have to go but I'll see you around.'' Draco said as he made his way to the balcony.

''wait, I still don't know who you are.'' The blonde smiled sadly. For the first time he wanted to hide who he really was. Wanted the other boy to never find out.

''you will soon enough.'' Harry quickly searched for his glasses to see at least a glimpse of his intruder but by the time he had found the damn thing the other boy was long gone. Harry sighted as he looked at the clock. He had to prepare himself for dinner.

Draco was impatient, there was no denying that. He had been listening to his parents chattering while he waited for the first guests to arrive at dinner. he was eager to see the raven haired boy again and to know which country he came from. At the same time however he felt a little scared, how would the boy react when he found out who he was. Of course there was still a chance that the boy wouldn't ever recognize him since he hadn't been wearing his glasses during their talk. It was a shallow hope but it was the only one he got at the moment.

The first one to arrive was a bushy haired girl who was introduced to him as Hermione Granger of Greece. He had no idea why but for some reason she annoyed him to the bone, and she hadn't even opened her mouth yet! The girl just looked too smart for her age he would be damned if she were to win. Luckily her place was as far from him as possible so he wouldn't have to talk to her.

The second guest to arrive was a tall handsome boy named Blaise Zambini of Italy. His chocolate colored eyes carefully scanned the large dining table until his eyes landed on Draco. Draco's eyes widened most of the time people would try to kiss his parents feet before they would even look at him. the Italian boy send him an amused smirk and confidently walked up to him.

''so you're the prat we're all fighting for.'' Draco could hear the room suddenly coming to life. His father stood up, his mother and the bushy haired girl took a sharp intake of breath and the guards were already tying the boys behind his back, all of it happening in more than ten seconds. And then Draco added a sound of his own, he laughed. The boy seemed pleased with himself and send another smirk in his direction.

''release him'' Draco said still softly chuckling. He had no idea why it was so funny, he should have been angry with the boy but instead he found it to be the most hilarious commend he had ever heard. The guards let go of the Italians hands and the boy made a mocking bow before him. Blaise apparently was a really talkative boy, he had placed himself next to Draco even though the spot was originally meant for someone else, and had been chattering ever since. Draco was saved when the next guests arrived the first one to enter was a pug faced girl called Pansy Parkinson of England who was yelling something at the person who had yet to enter. She stopped abruptly when she noticed she had arrived at the dining hall and her face got a sickening innocent expression. She was placed next to Granger and just as she wanted to sit down an angry redhead stormed into the hall.

''you know I don't ca-'' the redhead, just like the pug faced girl, stopped mid-sentence when he realized where he was. He quickly muttered an apology and after his introduction as Ronald Weasley of Germany he walked with his head down to his seat on the other side of Granger. Meanwhile Blaise hadn't stopped talking for a second, not even to breath. Draco cursed all the monarchs to hell and back for creating such annoying children, that was until the next guests arrived. First to enter was a rather large boy with at least a triple chin. He was introduced as Dudley Dursley of Poland and was quickly led to his spot next to Parkinson. It was the boy who entered next, covered in sweat and panting that made him stop though. It was the same raven haired boy he had met that day only now he was wearing a black suit, emerald tie and dorky round glasses. Draco had to look away afraid his heart would jump out of his chest if he didn't. then the voice of the servant broke through all the other conversations.

''mister Harry Potter of the Netherlands.'' Draco eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. Just his luck now that he had finally found someone who was nice as well as amazing looking he turned out to be the heir of one of the smallest countries on the planet. Draco sighted this whole tournament thing was going to be a disaster.

''you were the one who crawled through my window this afternoon, right?'' Draco jumped up from the unexpected voice at his left. The raven haired boy smiled at him and Draco's heart abandoned him. all he could do was slowly nod. ''I thought so. Let me introduce myself properly now. I'm Harry Potter.'' The boy extended his hand and Draco grabbed it without hesitation.

''Draco Malfoy and you know my offer still stands.'' Harry looked at him questioningly as the boy started to talk with new found confidence ''I can make you a fancier pair of glasses anytime you want.''


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: hello everyone, I know it's a LOT later as Sunday by now and I am so terribly sorry! I wanted to update sooner, trust me, but writers block mixed with really bad grades and upcoming exams I just couldn't find the time.**

 **But don't worry I have summer break now so I can write all day and night if I want to and I'll try and update regularly again. Please don't give up on me yet!**

 **Disclaimer: nope sorry still don't own any of the characters, unfortunately *sigh**

 **HowlingRain: thanks for pointing it out I hadn't noticed yet normally my computer does that automatically. I'll change it right away.**

 **The slap-because-I-found-Dumbledore-first game**

The rest of the night went by relatively fast. Draco found he was really shy around the Dutch boy which made Harry, in turn, insecure. The two boys soon discovered they had absolutely nothing in common and that meant they had nothing to talk about either. And to make things even worse Blaise was showing a strange kind of interest in the raven head. before he would only chatter to Draco but ever since Harry had joined dinner the Italian sometimes asked Harry stuff and seemed a little too interested in his answers.

''So she asked me: are you a dementor? And I had no idea what she was on about so I was like, ehm…no. then she said: because you just took my breath away!'' the Italian boy cried out and Draco rolled his eyes. Seriously? That was about the worst pick up line, ever. His head snapped up however when he heard a soft tinkling sound. Harry was laughing and Blaise grinned clearly satisfied with himself.

''Well that's nothing.'' Draco exclaimed. ''A girl in town once told me: did someone say wingardium leviosa or are you just happy to see me?'' as soon as the words left his mouth he wished he could take them back. His eyes widened and he became at least as red as a tomato. To ashamed to look up he lowered his gaze to his plate and waited for the laughing to start. From his right he could hear someone half dying of laughter. If possible Draco became even redder. From his left came a reply that shocked both Blaise and Draco.

''Well someone once told me: I don't need accio to make you come.'' Both boys stared in shock at the shrugging Harry. Blaise had resumed his dying of laughter thingy and this time Draco softly chuckled along. He send Harry a grateful smile which the other boy immediately returned.

That was about the most interesting conversation they had during dinner. It started to get a little awkward when they started desert. Even Blaise had no idea what to say anymore so they just ate in silence until everyone was finished and one by one excused themselves.

''Before you all return to your rooms I want to tell you that we are extremely honored to have you as guests in our mansion. '' Lucius said after having observed all the contestants during dinner. ''I am sorry to inform you that unfortunately Luna Lovegood of Sweden isn't here to join us but she failed the first test.''

''What test?'' Pansy asked confused.

''You don't mean to say she… got eaten by that chicken, right?'' Ron cried out.

''My peacocks don't eat flesh Mr. Weasley.'' Lucius said sharply. ''And I meant the test you have all succeeded in this afternoon at the train miss Parkinson. Which brings us to the next announcement, you will endure a series of trials here. Some will be easy and some will not. They can vary from dangerous adventures to lessons in table manners but you will be informed at least three hours before each trial. Now I won't keep you any longer, you may retire to your chambers and I expect to see you all back here tomorrow morning around 9 for breakfast.''

A soft pull on his sleeve made Draco turn around to find the pug faced girl right in front of him. ''I'm afraid I lost my rooms could you take me to them?'' he rolled his eyes, how obvious could one be. Still he sighted and gestured for the girl to follow him.

'' Well this should be your room I'll make sure father fixes a map for you so you can find your room anytime.'' The blonde exclaimed as he dropped the pouting girl of at her rooms.

'' Won't you come in for a second?'' she asked hopefully and Draco noted that not only did she have an ugly face but she was also in the possession of a voice which made you want to off yourself.

'' I am terribly sorry but I think I will retire to my quarters for now, and you should to who knows what tomorrows trial will be.'' the girl however, wasn't planning on admitting her defeat and kept on begging the blond to stay just a little longer. When he eventually did give in to the girl he regretted it as soon as he stepped inside the room. In the mere 3 hours she would have had before dinner she had managed to transform their carefully styled rooms into something which looked like a unicorn had puked all over it.

'' Do you like it'' Pansy asked hopefully as she saw Draco looking around with an mute look in his eyes. He wanted to say so many unfriendly things but his etiquettes wouldn't let him. his mother had thought him that when you weren't able to say anything nice, it's better to say nothing at all. So that was what he did, standing in the middle of the room with an unreadable expression and just keeping quiet. At the lack of doing anything Draco just walked to the balcony which she luckily hadn't touched yet.

''Where are you going Draco?'' the English girl whined as she followed him outside.

'' Just thought to get some fresh air.'' The blond excused himself with an awkward laugh. It wasn't entirely a lie sure he wanted to go to the only place the girl had yet to molest but there also hung a weird smell inside the rooms which drove him outside. Pansy's rooms had view over the front of the mansion Draco had often spend his nights on this balcony when his parents were likely to come home after business trips. Even when the rooms were occupied , like now, he would find a way to get to the balcony. The latter had caused him a lot of broken bones. He chuckled softly as he remembered all the times the nurse had cursed him through Hell and back for being so reckless. Both of them had agreed not to tell his parents, neither of them seeing a good outcome for their wellbeing when they would hear of it. Over the years Draco had become more skilled in climbing the sides of the mansion and the times he had to go to the infirmary had lessened.

A sudden weight at his arm forcibly pulled him out of his thoughts and as he looked down he could see the pug faced girl hanging 'seductively' on his arm. Draco had to gather all his willpower now to immediately pull away and run out of the room. The girl looked up and battered her eyelashes which made her look even scarier than before. He sighted and started to untangle himself from the girl who seemed to have plastered herself against him like a leech.

''Pansy…'' he started but the girl cut him off. '' Do you want to spend the night Dracypoe?'' Draco stared at het for 3 whole minutes before he fully understood what she meant and a vein started to throb dangerously on his forehead.

''How did you just call me?'' he growled, a dark aura gradually spreading behind him which would even scare dementors away. '' Let me go this instant.'' He turned around and left as soon as she had, afraid he would say something to make her not want an alliance anymore. he sighted and followed his original plan to return to his rooms.

The next morning at breakfast the room was awfully quiet, they didn't have assigned seats this time so everyone who entered first sat close to the blonde and as fate would have it Harry and Ron were the last to arrive. Harry sat down on the opposite side of the table which still made it possible for Draco to watch him but didn't allow them to talk. With only two seats available the two newfound friends weren't able to sit close to each other either. On his left Harry found the pug faced English girl and on his right sat the fat Polish boy who was already shoving more food inside his mouth as Harry could even fit on his plate.

Nothing major happened at breakfast, Harry learned that he didn't like either of his neighbors, the Polish boy in particular as he was stealing food of Harry's plate every time he thought the latter didn't look. On the other side of the table Draco sat chattering with the Italian boy, or more precisely, the Italian boy was chattering and Draco was trying to get his reply in the conversation somehow. It was more of a game to him really, he had to figure out when the other boy would need to take a gulp of air so that he could throw his own opinions out there and had to wait again for the Italian to breath.

Lucius and Narcissa didn't join them for breakfast which made most of the teens a little more free in their actions. Some of them talked louder, or even yelled in Pansy's case, and all of them stopped using their 'Royal manners'. For most of them this just meant they started to talk less modest but in Dudley's case it included table manners as well. It didn't last long till Harry had to excuse himself to get changed, again, because his neighbor had spilled all is food in his direction. How he had managed it the raven haired didn't know all he knew was that Dudley's food lay in his lap, and not on Dudley's other neighbor's lap.

Draco watched the raven haired boy walk away and, not having paid attention, worried why the boy in question had suddenly left. He quickly excused himself as well, interrupting Blaise in the middle of his story telling, and left the dining hall to go after Harry.

He found said boy on the stair leading to his rooms.

''Oi Harry!'' he called out as he ran up to the boy. Harry turned around, surprised to find the blonde heir running up the stairs. '' Why did you…'' Draco trailed of as he saw the stated the other boys pants were in. he stood dead in his tracks and had to muster up all the self-control not to burst out in a hysterical laughing fit. Harry stared down at him, an amused look on his face. ''Who…uhm…. Did that?'' Draco muttered eventually when he had regained his composure.

'' Dudley.''

'' The fat Polish boy?'' Draco asked but then he shrugged, he had seen the boy wolf down his breakfast it was only natural he would spill some of it.

'' Did you come to check on me?'' Harry asked suddenly and Draco felt a blush crept up to his cheeks and he started to stutter.

'' N-no I was leaving and I just happened to see you walk so I thought why not-'' Draco started to ramble and he cursed himself for it, for Merlin's sake Malfoy's didn't ramble! Why was it that he lost his composure so easily around the Dutch boy. Luckily Harry held up a hand to stop his rant.

'' Thank you'' he smiled and Draco once again cursed himself this boy could read him way to easily for his liking. The raven haired's smile broadened when he saw the blonde flush even more. ''Since we're apparently going the same way, mind if we walk together?'' this brought a smile on Draco's face again and he eagerly nodded. They walked most of the way in silence but it wasn't a heavy one it was quite comfortable actually. Harry was the first one to break the silence by suggesting they'd mead up later since he really did need to get changed. Draco nodded.

'' How about at the tree in front of your window in half an hour?'' the blonde asked and Harry nodded. Half an hour would be more than enough to change and figure out which three the other meant. Inside his room Harry immediately started to throw out all the clothes he possessed onto the bed. Looking at his small attire he felt a little self-conscious. All of his clothes were either too big or just not really 'Royal-like' as his mother liked to call it. a lot of fittings and looking in the mirror later he eventually settled for dark jeans which weren't too baggy and even sort of looked good under the green button up shirt he was wearing. He still had ten minutes to look for the three which was more than enough time in Harry's opinion. He had been wrong, arriving 5 minutes late he found the blonde standing impatiently under the large sakura tree. The raven haired felt dead in track and stared at the sight in front of him, the wind softly blew the pink pedals off the branches, some of them getting stuck in blonde hair, and the other boy leaning against the base of the tree with his eyes closed. The sight all together took his breath away and made his heart skip a beat. _He looks beautiful_. Wait. What? Surely he had meant the three, yeah that was it. the three was beautiful. But even as he tried to convince himself of that he couldn't quite shake the nagging voice in the back of his head who told him to look at the blond and tell him he wasn't beautiful as well.

'' Took you long enough.'' Harry jumped, not expecting the voice.

'' S-sorry I couldn't find the three.'' He mumbled trying to hide all the confusing feelings that had just surfaced but he couldn't stop the blush which lightly colored his cheeks. Draco scratched his head thinking.

''I should probably have clarified that. I keep forgetting you don't know the mansion like I do.'' Harry shook his head understanding. They both sat down leaning against the base of the trunk. Neither of them knowing what to say and thus settling for a comfortable silence again. This time it was Draco who broke the silence.

'' can I ask you something? It's kind of personal though, so you don't have answer.'' Harry smiled when Draco didn't meet his eyes.

'' Sure, ask away.' Draco let out a breath he didn't now he had been holding.

'' Why did you except my father's offer?'' it took the raven haired a little while to figure out what he was talking about but then he smiled.

'' Are you worried I'm only here for your country?'' Harry teased but as he saw the blondes cheeks flame up he knew he had been right. In the meanwhile Draco for the umpteenth time that day cursed himself and the Dutch boy for being able to read him like an open book.

'' To be completely honest I wasn't the least bit interested in this alliance. My country doesn't really need it we have a lot of contacts we could ask for help though I will admit France's armies could come in handy in the upcoming war.'' Harry sighted and looked at the boy next to him whose shoulders had slumped. '' That was what my parents wanted me to go here for.'' Draco looked up, newfound hope in his eyes.

'' And why did you want to go?''

'' Because I wanted to meet you.'' Harry said shrugging completely obvious as to what his words were doing to the other boy. The blonde was having a real hard time breathing, his heart was going in overdrive and a tingling sensation in his stomach wasn't helping either. Harry chose that moment to turn around and was surprised to find a pair of silver eyes staring back at him. he grinned as the wind blew even more pink pedals into his companions hair and raised his hand to pluck them out. Draco's eyes widened as he felt Harry's hand roam through his hair looking for pedals. He was glad they were already sitting or he would surely have collapsed right then and there. What was this strange feeling! He hated it because it made him feel weak but at the same time he loved he strange sensation.

'' Let's make this a game.'' Harry suddenly suggested, still plucking pedals from Draco's hair.

'' H-huh?'' Draco muttered and Harry smiled.

'' There is this game in my country that every time you see a yellow car drive by you can hit someone, only the first one to see it may hit someone though!. Why not do that to pass time but instead of yellow cars we use… '' he started thinking.

'' This?'' Draco opted as he showed the other boy the Dumbledore wizarding card. Harry nodded enthusiastically.

'' Yes that will do! So every time one of us finds a Dumbledore wizarding card we can ask each other a question which we must answer.'' Draco grinned, the game actually sounded like fun.

'' I found this card.'' Draco started '' Does that mean I can ask you a question now?'' Harry grinned.

'' That's how the game works.'' Draco happily returned the grin.

'' Alright, then what is your favorite book?'' the raven haired stared at him for a long time before he broke out in laughter. ''what?'' Harry shook his head.

'' It's just… you have a free question which I must answer and you ask me what my favorite book is.'' Draco glared at him and Harry quickly apologized. '' It's the picture of Dorian Gray.''

'' The what of who?'' Draco asked curiously. Harry laughed again.

'' It's a muggle book, the picture of Dorian Gray. It's about a young man whose portrait grows old while he remains young.''

'' What kind of magic did he use!'' Draco asked excitedly and Harry laughed at the childlike look which marred Draco's features. And that was how they ended up talking about the book all afternoon.

'' Harry! Where the bloody Hell have you been all afternoon!'' Ron yelled as Harry and Draco stepped into the dining hall. ''She has been lecturing me all day!'' the redhead exclaimed pointing at the bushy haired girl behind him. a large yelp was soon heard from Ron as said girl hit him om the back of the head with a thick book.

'' Where the Hell was that for! And where did that book come from?!'' he asked angrily rubbing the back of his head.

'' Don't point Ronald!'' Ron sighted and Harry did his best to stifle his laugh. '' Harry! How many times do I need to tell you not to walk into a house wearing muddy shoes, go put them at the front door.''

'' Yes mam'' both boys said, saluting the Greek girl who was watching in amusement as they proceeded to march to the front door.

'' Please Harry, don't ever leave me alone with her, ever.'' Ron pleaded and Harry had to laugh at the utter desperation on the other's face and the fact that he was so scared to actually use 'ever' two times. '' What were you doing anyway?'' at the last question Harry laughed sheepishly.

'' I was exploring the gardens.'' He said eventually. He had no idea why he had decided to keep his encounter with Draco a secret, somehow it felt to intimate to share. Ron nodded, apparently accepting his answer.

'' Take me with you next time though mate.'' Harry laughed again and nodded promising to take the redhead with him next time.

When they reentered the dining hall, this time without shoes, they were met with the same sight as in the morning. All seats were taken with exception of the one in-between Pansy and Dudley. Not wanting to end up as a human plate again Harry raced Ron to the other available chair next to Blaise and Pansy. Ron growled when it turned out that Harry was just a tiny bit faster as the redhead and had won the seat.

Blaise was once again the one to keep the conversation at the table going and when he found out Harry had taken the seat next to him there wasn't even a moment he would stop long enough to take a proper breath. Harry didn't really mind since he didn't feel that talkative anyway and it was quite funny listening to the Italian exenterating his stories.

'' So Harry do you have a girlfriend?'' the boy in question chocked on his food and suddenly all eyes on the table turned to him. Blaise grinned evilly at him and Harry blushed furiously. On Blaise's other side Draco was watching him with sudden interest.

'' I-I-… uhm'' he stuttered making the Italian laugh.

'' I take it that's a no then?'' Harry could only nod. He knew Blaise hadn't meant in like that but his sexuality was still a sensitive topic for Harry. Draco stared at him for a long time, watching the color drain from the Dutch boy's face and the realization hit him. was Harry gay? Draco sighted, he would have to find a Dumbledore card to ask him.

When it was time for dessert Draco was sure faith was mocking him. included in their dessert was a chocolate frog and both boys grinned at each other as they eagerly opened their candy, completely obvious to the stares they received from the other teens around the table.

Draco was the first one to look up, a little disappointed, he had found a Hagrid card which was even more common as a Dumbledore card. His eyes widened as he saw Harry look up with a broad smile on his face holding up a Dumbledore card. Draco grinning, he might not be able to ask the raven head a question but at least they would be able to meet up. The rest of the teens seemed to have given up on understanding the two boys or just didn't care anymore. only Blaise hadn't lost interesting. That boy was a serious pain in the neck.

'' What was that all about?'' he asked curiously. Draco shrugged.

'' Just some bed me and Harry made, whoever gets the Dumbledore first gets to hit the other person. People in the Netherlands apparently find it enjoyable. '' Harry nodded, quickly playing along with the blonde's lie.

'' Jup, people in my country do it with yellow cars but we thought it would be more enjoyable to do it with Dumbledore cards.''

'' Can I join in?'' Blaise asked enthusiastically.

'' Sure'' Harry grinned. The Italian quickly opened his frog, finding a Godric Gryffindor, and looked up with a pout. The raven haired clapped him on the back reassuringly meanwhile he and Draco grinned at each other making a mental promise to meet up in the evening.

'' Drackypoe'' someone whined behind him and Draco could already feel a vein on his forehead throb dangerously. Next to him he could hear two boys trying very hard, and failing, to hold in their laughing.

'' Shut up'' he growled at them before turning around at the pug faced girl who was desperate for attention. '' What do you want Pansy.'' She started pouting which made it even harder for the two boys to keep in their laughing.

'' Could you take me to my rooms again I…''

'' Blaise should know where they are, right? They are really close to yours.'' Draco cut in, thinking of a way to get both of them out so that he could have a little more time to talk to Harry. Blaise sighted.

'' Alright, we'll be off then.'' Blaise murmured but as he walked out of the door he couldn't resist '' Good night Drackypoe!'' this time there was no stopping the emerald eyed boy from laughing even when Draco glared daggers at him he wouldn't stop. Still laughing Harry excused himself and retired to his rooms. Draco sighted there went his plan to talk to Harry before tonight. It turned out he had to wait even longer seeing as the bushy haired girl and redhead also excused themselves and went after their friend. Well this promised to be a boring night. With a sight he noted that they had left him alone with Dudley who was still loading food in his mouth.

A knock on his door startled him, Harry had just closed the door to his room deciding he would just kill the time by reading when he found Ron and Hermione in front of his room. Not waiting for an invitation the bushy haired girl pushed her way into the room. Ron followed soon after with an apologetic smile. After having spent almost all business trips with Hermione he was used to her sudden bluntness. Both teens looked around the room first and gaped at Harry who was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

'' Bloody Hell Harry this room is amazing.'' Harry shrugged and smiled at the redheads bewildered look. He had to admit it though the room was indeed quite beautiful, but weren't all the rooms here? As if able to read his mind Hermione breathed out: '' And so big! Mine are about half this size.'' She exclaimed and Harry couldn't help but laugh as he heard her mutter something like '' and everything is pink!''

Surprisingly Ron was the first one regain his composure and ask '' So what was with you and Malfoy hunting for cards at dinner?'' Harry raised his eyebrow at the sudden use of Draco's surname but decided not to commend.

'' We decided to play a game to kill the time.'' Harry said with a shrug. Hermione looked at him skeptically as if she could see right through his lies, but hey technically it wasn't a lie. They really were playing a game.

'' What game?'' the girl asked.

'' Remember me accidentally hitting you when we were in Greece last year?'' Hermione frowned.

'' You mean when you hit me because there was a taxi outside? Yeah I remember.'' Harry looked at her apologetically.

'' Yeah, well we are playing something similar.'' Harry explained, deciding to go with the story they had told Blaise. Both of his friends decided they wanted to compete as well, Ron immediately and Hermione not seeing any objections in the idea. And that was how the slap-because-I-found-Dumbledore-first game was invented.


End file.
